Eaglet's First Flight... in a Plane! Kestrel updates & Northern Harrier Video!

- High Speed Migration -

 REGI transporter? You 'betcha!

We are very lucky at REGI to have such a trustworthy batch of volunteer transporters! Our list stretches from the Milwaukee area to Minocqua, and we couldn't do it without every single one of them! This time of year, their phones are ringing off the hook with calls about injured birds and orphaned babies. It's not out of the ordinary for them to pick up several birds for us on their journey to REGI.

Our team meets Dave Piehler our transporter pilot!

This week, the interns learned that transport comes in all shapes and sizes. I'm not just talking about 2-door sports cars to the family friendly mini-van... I'm talking about the flying variety... with props and landing gear!!

Molly, Alyssa, Sarah, Aysegul, Dave P., Marge, Maddie, & Don with the new eagle patient

Dave P., Marge, and the patient

This isn't the first baby eagle of the season, although I'm sure he has had the fastest flight of the lot. Although he came to REGI a starving young eaglet, right now his future looks bright! You may have noticed a theme with this year's patient eaglets. Emaciation (an extremely critical starvation), can happen for many reasons in the wild. Sometimes it's a health condition. Sometimes the stronger babies push their way into getting more food from the parents. Sometimes weak individuals are discarded by their parents. This is what makes animal rehabilitation so difficult. They can't open their mouths to explain their symptoms... we are left to make educated guesses based on history and research.

- PATIENT UPDATE -

Several of REGI's babies this summer are lucky enough to have foster parents. Species making the list are bald eagles, American kestrels, Eastern phoebes, American robins, crows, bluebirds, and many more.

 Bald Eagle foster dad & female eaglet

 

This male Bald Eagle is a foster parent to three young kiddos this summer. A huge part of being a foster parent is teaching the young ones what the different vocalizations mean. So far, it seems that the eaglets only know the food begging call!

American kestrels fostered by an education kestrel female

These American kestrels have graced our blog several times now, but this is the first time you've seen them outside! They are getting SO big! Our female education kestrel is making a great foster mom for 4 fledglings!

 Northern harrier baby admitted tonight

 Feeding the Northern Harrier
You can see the crop (located on his neck) get bigger and bigger as it fills with food!

This little guy came to us from the Marshfield area. Many people don't realize that not all hawks nest in trees! Northern Harriers (Marsh Hawks) nest in fields! Often times, the fields that provide the best cover for their nests are farmer's hay fields. This little guy's nest was run over by a baler. Unfortunately his siblings weren't as lucky as he is, but he's a fight

 Molly McKay, REGI's education director, and intern Alyssa Z. at the turkey vulture portion of the tour

Thanks so much to the Natural Resource Foundation for coming out today! It was hot, sunny, and information packed! This photo was taken during the turkey vulture portion of the tour. Many people find turkey vultures to be disgusting creatures because of what they eat (dead stuff)... but here at REGI we see vultures in a much different light!

This week we said happy birthday to intern Sarah! Look at those candles!

Enjoy they rest of your weekend... and keep your eyes peeled for injured wildlife over the 4th of July week. Fireworks are beautiful, but they have a tendency to create various issues in the world of wildlife!!

- Katie Rymer, Assistant Avian Rehabilitator

Summer Patient Update

Hello everyone!  Everything is in full swing here at REGI with patients coming and going and lots of changes happening.  Some of you have been calling hoping to join us on tours but we have had to delay tours for a short time due to the weather and construction.  We are hoping to have everything up and running again starting next week.

A Willow Tree is cleaned up after high winds brought it down in a storm.

We had a round of severe storms sweep through the area last week and are still in the process of cleaning up.  Above you can see our beloved Weeping Willow that gave shelter to many visitors and provided food to many birds being cleaned up after falling in the storm.  This tree was a special place for a releasing many songbirds where they can slowly readjust to being back in the wild while eating from the plentiful feeders.  The Willow was one of many trees that came down around REGI and we are sad to see it go.

Construction workers frame the newest building on the REGI property.

One of the other causes of delay to our tours is a construction project.  Our original REGI building and enclosures, which we called the "Middle Mews", has been torn down and is in the process of being replaced with a new building.  The "Middle Mews" had been at REGI since it's inception in 1990 and were showing serious signs of age.   The new building will house more birds and provide more space for some of our larger raptors.  We will keep you updated at the building process comes along.

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird perches atop her feeder.

This beautiful female Ruby-throated Hummingbird (above) came in suffering from what we suspect to be chemical poisoning.  Herbicide and pesticide use in yards affects wildlife and can be fatal, although many people don't realize the dangers.  Fortunately she seems to be recovering from the neurological effects of the chemicals and we anticipate her release in the near future.  You can often hear her humming in her enclosure as she exercises her wings.

Fluffy American Kestrel chicks are among REGI's many orphans this summer.

Do you recognize the two little American Kestrel chicks (above) from our blog two weeks ago?  They were still tiny balls of fluff but growing rapidly.

Female Kestrel fledgling intently watches the camera.

A young Kestrel already displays the beautiful blue of a male on his wings.

They have already reached their adult sizes and are now gaining their adult plumage although you can still tell they are juveniles by the downy fluff surrounding them, particularly on their heads (see above.)  When you last met them we were just beginning to see the markings that tell us if they are male or female and now it is quite clear.  The Kestrel in the top photo has reddish brown and black barring all across her wings brown streaking on her chest which tell us that she is a female, while the Kestrel on the bottom has blueish gray wings with a lighter smoother chest and black markings telling us that he is a male. 

Northern Flicker preparing for release.

This Northern Flicker (above) came in along with his siblings when their nesting tree came down earlier in the summer.  They were completely naked and the size of a thumb each.  He was recently released and can still be seen hanging around the REGI neighborhood.  You can see the yellow feather shafts on his wings which is indicative of an Eastern bird, Western flickers have red feather shafts on the wings.

A juvenile Bald Eagle joins his new foster father .

Our ever faithful foster Bald Eagle has his first baby of the year (above.)  The eaglet that you met in the last blog has graduated to the flight building and is ready for the care of a foster parent.  Our foster Eagle will care for the young eaglet and show him the ropes as he finished his recovery.  So far the chances for a future release are looking good.

Intern, Kerry McVey, holds a Bald Eaglet in preparation for a feeding.

This young Eagle (above) came in weak and starving at the incredibly low weight of four pounds.  Birds suffering from starvation need to be gradually weaned onto solid foods and must be tube fed for a long period of time.  While the road to recovery will be long for this bird we are feeling hopeful.  He has gained two pounds so far and is continuing to grow.

So, the clinic is packed and we are ever busy!  There are many summer programs coming up in the next weeks.  Keep your eyes on the REGI website events page to follow our events.

Molly McKay
Director of Education

Happy Foster Father's Day to REGI's Barred Owl

Happy Foster Father's Day!

These two barred owls have a special foster dad this summer. The owlet in the front is utilizing his nictitating membranes. These help keep the eye clean & moist.

It's not too often that a raptor can say that they have a full-time job, but here at REGI... nothing is out of the ordinary! These two baby barred owls (pictured above) were featured in an earlier blog eating some mice in the clinic. Since then, they have been placed with a foster dad.  

When he's not busy doing education programs for the public, this barred owl works a summer job as a foster dad (pictured below, in the middle). He cares for a handful of owlets every year, teaching them how to act like a raptor. With his help, baby barred owls that make their way into REGI don't become imprinted on humans. Imprinting occurs when humans have too much contact with younger birds. The babies view you as one of their own... their parent... their friend... their chef... their.... dare I say it... mate. Because of this, imprinted birds are non-releasable. They rely heavily on humans, and wouldn't be able to fend for themselves.

Today, we celebrate our education barred owl's many accomplishments! Happy Foster Father's Day!

 Two years ago at this same time, our education barred owl was hard at work!

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 Patient Update
 

REGI's newest baby... a very hungry bald eagle

New patients are filling up the clinic everyday, and not all of them are lucky enough to get foster parents. One of this week's new patients is a young bald eagle. Although it's hard to believe, this bird hatched from an egg just this spring! Crazy! After only 10 weeks of being in the nest, young eagles are ready to make their first flights. Unfortunately, this one didn't have such a graceful first flight. Although the future looks bright for this young eagle, there is still a long road to a full recovery!

Raptors aren't the only birds that come through REGI's doors. The majority of our babies this time of year are songbirds and ducks.

These baby robins are enjoying their day outside!

A family of Eastern phoebes taking naps after feeding. 

Can you guess who's still hungry?

This baby turkey is only a day old. 
You can still see his egg tooth on the front of his beak. This tooth is used to help poke their way out of the egg.

Ruffed grouse chick nap-time!

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 The crew eats a delicious meal!

We are always hard at work and lunch time is no exception! This past Thursday, a delicious meal was prepared for the staff, interns, and volunteers from Linda, a long-time REGI friend! We made quick work of the chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and COOKIES!

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  Happy Father's Day! We were hard at work all day feeding babies from sun-up to sun-down!

- Katie Rymer, Assistant avian rehabilitator

                          ___
                       .-"-~-"-.
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                      ||((o|o))||     cooks
                      )\__/V\__/(     for
                     / ~ -...- ~ \     you?"
                    |\` ~. ~ .~ `/|
                 () | `~ - ^ - ~` |   - Barred Owl
             () //  | ;  '  :  .  |
            ()\\/_() \ . : '  ; '/
           ___/ /_____'.   ; ' .'____
                 _   ^ `uu---uu`    /\
          _____________^ _________^_\/
                       \ \
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                     ()/  ()
                      ()

Eagle Release, More Eagles Admitted, Lots of Baby Birds, Model A Club Tour, and Patient Updates

We are having a whirlwind of a summer! (And it's only June! Oh my!)

As many of you know, we released 7 Bald Eagles yesterday that were found in Eagle River, WI suffering from poisoning. The eagles were found on April 9, 2011 and rescued by REGI staff members Katie Farvour and Robert Prinsen with help from Ken Pedersen, a volunteer from the Northwoods. If it weren't for the fast action of these wonderful people, these eagles would not have survived. Marge spent two full days and nights caring for these birds, and through exceptional care, all of them recovered! Survival of birds with poisoning like this is unheard of, but yet, we did it here at REGI. We would like to recognize the wonderful work of REGI rehabilitators Katie Farvour, Robert Prinsen, and Alberta Halfmann, and REGI volunteer, Stacie Wild for caring for these birds during their nearly 2 month stay. Marge always says that her staff is among the best in the world, and with these 7 eagles, this statement is proven to be true.

Many people "flocked" to see the birds off, and while looking around the crowd, I saw so many awed people. Working with these birds everyday is an absolute privilege and a joy, but seeing people react to them with a sense of wonderment reminds me how amazing the birds are and how lucky I am.

Photo above: Marge Gibson walks near the crowd with a juvenile Bald Eagle to give them all an up-close look. This was a first time experience for many of the visitors.

Photo above: Marge Gibson releases the first of the 7 Bald Eagles.

Photo above: Katie Farvour releases one of the 7 Bald Eagles she helped rescue and rehabilitate.

Photo above: Robert Prinsen releases one of the 7 Bald Eagles he helped rescue and rehabilitate.


The very day we released the 7 Bald Eagles, three more found their way to our clinic to join another who arrived a couple days earlier. Release seven and admit four... things are never quiet here for long.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle has a possible shoulder luxation (dislocation). You can see that she holds her wings unevenly. Luxations are difficult injuries for birds to bounce back from because it usually limits their ability to the fly in the future.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle has a damaged iris (the colored part of the eye) and is somewhat thin. Her injured eye may have limited her ability to hunt therefore leaving her skinny; however, many raptors are able to adapt to hunting with one good eye so there may be an underlying factor affecting her weight.

Photo above: This juvenile Bald Eagle has multiple injuries from an unknown source. His left eye, left wing, and right foot all are injured. He is unable to stand and it is likely that he will not regain sight in his injured eye. He is fighting for life and that keeps us hopeful.


On top of the three adult Bald Eagles, we also admitted our THIRD baby Bald Eagle. Our foster father is getting the "father of the year" award from us this year!
Photo above: This baby Bald Eagle was found blown out of his nest in Northern Wisconsin after some high winds experienced earlier this week. We are watching him for signs of injuries sustained from the fall.

Photo above: The new baby Bald Eagle joins his "instant" family, and all (including daddy eagle) are doing well! As you may have remembered from earlier posts, we nicknamed the first two eaglets Wisconsin and Kentucky. Well, to accommodate for another Wisconsinite their nicknames have been adjusted. From left to right we have "Southern Wisconsin" or "SW", the first eaglet to arrive, we have "Northern Wisconsin" or "NW" the third eaglet to arrive, and we have "Kentucky", the second eaglet to arrive. SW has "fledged" and is exploring areas outside of the nest. As you can see, they are getting along swimmingly.


BABIES! We have admitted a lot of new babies and I will try to introduce most of them to you.

Photo above: This is the third baby Great Horned Owl currently in care here at REGI. He was found orphaned along a road and is thin, and is now being tube fed to improve his weight and digestion before we start giving him whole mice. As soon as he is well again, he will join his new siblings and foster father outside. The other two owlets are doing well and growing fast!

Photo above: We admitted two baby Wood Ducks who are enjoying childhood. To me, ducklings always look like they are having the most fun teetering around. They have been introduced to a foster mother Wood Duck to prevent imprinting.

Photo above: We admitted three more orphaned Mallard Ducklings and introduced them with the three we admitted earlier. The three larger ducklings in the photo were the first to arrive, and have grown quite a bit. Visit our earlier blog post from May 25th to see how little they were when they arrived. All 6 are now a happy ducky family.


Photo above: Two more orphaned Mourning Dove chicks have been admitted and are doing well.


Photo above: Here's an update on the the two Mourning Doves mentioned in the May 25th blog post. They are outside in screen cages now, and with their newly grown feathers, are looking very different from when they were admitted.


Photo above: An American Robin with an eye injury has joined our first Robin outside. The new baby is on the right and the first baby is on the left. Both were having fun bathing and splashing around in their water bowls before the photo was taken which is why they look a little water-logged.

Photo above: Here is a picture of the first American Robin mentioned in the May 25th blog post. Here he has dried off from his bath and is practicing his singing. He has grown so much in the short time he has been here.


On top of all the excitement with releases and patients, we have started giving some tours. Last Thursday we were visited by the Northwoods Model A Club. They all came puttering up the driveway in their awesome Ford Model A cars, some stopping to blow their "Awooga!" horns.

Photos above: The old time vehicles looked fantastic lined up along the REGI driveway!

Photo above: I spotted a bird on one of the cars! Almost as beautiful as the live birds here at REGI! ;)

Photo above: The Model A Club learns about Hawks with help from Education Coordinator, Molly McKay and Red-tailed Hawk, Xavier.

Video above: I watched as all of the amazing vehicles left the REGI property.

It was a big treat to see the amazing cars! We really enjoyed speaking with the members of the Model A Club and we hope they come back again next year!

As always, we will do our best to keep you updated as the summer continues.

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator

Riding the Roller Coaster of Life at REGI- The Good

(Photos: Stevens Point Bald Eagle eaglet is weighed when admitted. We use a baby scale and they are usually very cooperative laying still. No sedation is used in case you are wondering. Katie, Natasha, Lance and Steve look on.
Photo below: Head shot of the young Bald Eagle.

This has been one of those few days where you feel like you are on a roller coaster. One minute you have GREAT even TERRIFIC news and the next something horrible comes through the door and within a minute there is a call about an animal abuse situation that is intolerable and very literally within minutes after that you are putting food into the mouth of a precious little barn swallow so filled with innocence and enthusiasm of just being alive. Then the whole cycle starts all over again.

On the Terrific end of things, the young Bald Eagle was put with the foster dad and other eaglet that is already in the rearing chamber. Things went perfectly for the newly formed little family. While the photo I could get isn't perfect you can see the dad on the left and the two youngsters in the nest on the right. You may have to look some to see both brown youngsters in the nest. We are still not sure what happened to the eaglet, but continue to work to find out. She will have xrays Monday or Tuesday.



( Photo: Bald Eagle foster dad with the two eaglets. We don't get close to do photos so the quality is always grainy. The male was right in the nest with the kids once it got nigh time. I wish with everything in me that I could share this kind of behavior with the world! It is beautiful.)



More good news in a HUGE way from friend Barry Wallace. Barry is a consummate Trumpeter Swan watcher/protector/helper/health observer. I cannot say enough good about the many years that Barry has spent with the huge Trumpeter Swans near Hudson, Wi where many winter, nor the valuable work he does with this endangered species.

Last winter we were swimming in cases of lead poisoning in Trumpeter Swans. It was a miserable winter with long days and nights spent caring for these magnificent creatures. Lead poisoning is a horrible problem and with the high blood levels we were seeing in the winter swans nearly always fatal.

( Photo: Barry Wallace with Trumpeter Swan #87Y just prior to his March, 2009 release back into the wild after having been treated for and recovered from lead poisoning.)



( Photo: Pat Manthey DNR/BER Avian Ecologist Adjusting the neck collar on 87Y prior to his release in March while Barry holds him one last time.)

Making a very long and agonizing story short...One of the swans that came in to us was a 14 yr old male Trumpeter Swan that Barry has known from a neck collar since he was a youngster. If you can imagine for 14 years this man watched this elegant swan and his family as they wintered on the St Croix River. Last winter the male became very ill with lead poisoning. Barry caught him up and the bird came here for help. His neck collar number is 87Y. That number becomes a "name" for us while there are with us. 87Y had a rough time in rehab. He nearly died several times and finally recovered after months of treatment. There was a celebration when he was released back on the St Croix where he was found. His mate had just left back for her home territory




( Photo: I hold 87Y while Don says his goodbyes just minutes before his release. and a photo taken just after his release with the other wintering swans on the St Croix River which was still frozen in March.)


We heard little from the bird. Barry had an occasional update, but it was on a no-news-is-good-news status.

Yesterday I got an email from Barry. He found 87Y with a new uncollared adult female and they were looking pretty happy. That is GREAT news. We are not sure what happened to his former mate. She may no longer be alive. Swans mate for life or until some situation separates them. We are not sure what happened in this case.

We hope 87Y is deliriously happy with his new mate and has an uneventful fall and winter this year.

This swan episode and the other swan lead poisonings are documented in the blog in March and April if you would like to read them.

More good news is our Red-breasted Nuthatches are ready for release. They will be released tomorrow if the weather holds. The Black-capped Chickadees are also nearing release ready as is the Chipping Sparrow.


Many of the American Robins are also ready for release. We were waiting for warmer weather before opening the doors on the aviary and will do that next week after the Fourth of July celebration. Fourth of July and all the firecrackers and fireworks is not as exciting if you are a bird in a tree and terrified of the sound, the reverberation and the light show.

The good news continues as "Slick" the Amercian Robin chick that spent some time in a pail of oil or oil fluid of some kind is doing really well. When he came in he looked like well... SLICK, but these days he is looking pretty much like a normal baby robin. He eats more than most and that may be a reflection of his desire to get on with life.:)

(Photo: "SLICK" the baby American Robin that took a dip in a pail of oil is looking good these days. Many thanks to Lynn Ott who quickly washed him off when he arrived at her house for transport.)

( (Photo: Aprill trying to feed the Northern Flicker chick that was hit by a car but is recovering very well.)
The little Northern Flicker that was hit by a car is doing very well also. Flickers are such interesting youngsters. They are some of the "coolest" of the woodpecker babies and chat all of the time. They insist on hanging from you while you are feeding even when you wish they would not. Most years we have several nests of Northern Flickers by this time of the year. That occurs when trees are cut without people knowing tree contains a nest of the active woodpecker.

( Photo: The Barred Owl that was hit by a car several days ago is in an outdoor flight and doing well. The second photo was taken of the same owl on June 24, 2009. She has done well and come a long way. )

The Barred Owl that came in June 23rd having been hit by a car and looked like she was about to give up on this world is in an outdoor flight and looks great. She still has a bit of a headache and will need to exercise to regain her muscle strength, but she looks great and her vision and hearing are perfect. So many times when owls are hit by cars they lose vision or hearing and are then not releasable to the wild.

I will finish up the Bad and the Ugly portions of the blog in a few days. Then a warning, don't read it if you feeling delicate. ::((

Remember wildife when you use fireworks and loud poppers. Have a great and safe holiday everyone.

Marge Gibson 2009